Saving Hope
by wolfshalom
Summary: A jumper and her friends are taken in by Shield (better than it sounds). I'm still working on developing the plot.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first crossover: please be patient. Reviews always welcome.**

**Chapter One**

I quickly hot-wire the truck and leap in quickly, slamming the door hard behind me.

"Drive man!" I yell. The owner of this white truck is racing up behind me and he looks completely and totally homicidal, "DRIVE! Get us moving!" I scream as the owner's fist slams into the window by my head. Jordan slams on the gas, throwing me back into the seat.

"You stupid kids! You just wait until I catch up with you!" The man howls and he looks livid. "When I catch you-!" I cut him off as I close my eyes and the car vanishes from sight. Seconds later we're at a highway three states away.

'_Catch' us? Dude, you can't even _touch_ us! You want to get me? Well, Bring. It. On!_

**…**

That night, I jump us to South Georgia and we bed down in an old barn. A warm summer breeze rustles the grass outside and a gentle rain tickles the old tin roof above us while I spray paint the truck blue and change the license plates.

My seven year old sister, Chava, yawns and stretches out on the backseat. She curls into a ball and I gently put my jacket over her to help keep her warm. My cousin, Jordan, and friend, Caleb, make a fire, wrap five large yams up in aluminum foil, and push them close to the glowing red embers. My best friend, Serina, watches me contently and smiles widely when our eyes meet.

"Did you see that guy's face?" She asks and I laugh.

"Yeah! It was red as a tomato!" I say and we both break into laughter.

She passes me a screwdriver and I sit back to admire my handiwork. The owner will never recognize this vehicle again let alone the police. As far as anyone else knows: it's ours. Now we just have to worry about the Paladins catching up and killing me and my friends for knowing me…

But we have a truck now.

_That's cool, right?_

**…**

The boys finish cooking dinner and quickly pass out the food: one cooked yam for everyone, a few bags of chips, and two oranges. It's not much, but at least we have something to eat. After we eat, I lie on my back in the hay and curl into a ball. I can hear the others yawning around me and soon, they're all fast asleep.

Little did I know, our lives were about to make a change for the better.

Well…sort of.

**…**

We meet them the next day. Sunlight streams in from the cracks in the boards. I jerk awake and sit up as a rooster begins to crow outside. I swipe my hand over my eyes and yawn widely. Outside, I can hear gravel crunching as a small black car pulls up.

_Peace out, dude! _

Within minutes, I have everyone else awake. We quickly pile back into the van and I jump us away into an abandoned alley. Jordan throws the truck into drive and we speed away.

A few hours later, we're playing baseball in an old abandoned lot. I teleport high into the air to catch the ball and just as quickly jump back on the ground and tag Caleb out on first. He glares at me and claims that I cheated. I simply smile at him and blow him a kiss mockingly. Caleb rolls his eyes and sighs.

"I'm going to get you." He points his fingers at me and I smirk at him.

"Come at me, bro."

"Would you look at that?" An unfamiliar voice sounds I whirl around quickly. A man in a suit is walking towards us and an Asian woman stays close to his side. "It's been a while since we've seen a teleporter." He says and he smiles kindly.

I narrow my eyes at him. They're definitely from the government. _Whatever it is that they're selling, I'm not interested._

"Who are you?" I ask and I can feel the others gathering behind me.

From the corner of my eye, I see Serina grab Caleb and she readies herself to turn them both invisible should this encounter turn dangerous. Chava inches towards me and slips her hand through mine. If this turns ugly, I'll jump Chava somewhere safe and then come back for Jordan. Serina will keep her and Caleb hidden—it'd be a waste of time to try to look for them. We'll all meet up later at a McDonald's in this city.

"I'm Special Agent Coulson and this is my associate, Agent May." The man answers smoothly. "And you are?"

"Hope." I say and I watch him like a wolf would watch a mountain lion. "Hope Snider."

"Well, Hope. We help people like you—people with…unusual abilities." He looks at me calmly with a calm, hopeful grin but I don't trust him. "In fact, if you want, I'd like to ask you if you and your friends here would like to join Shield. We've been keeping a close eye on your activities and you all seem to be quite gifted. We could use people of your talents at Shield."

He looks like a nice guy but I've played this game before. A lot of people are nice until they suddenly put a gun to your head or a knife to your throat. To go with this guy could very well be suicide. For all I know, he's working with the Paladins, and that makes him dangerous.

"Sure you do…" I say and I warily take a few steps back and the others follow suit.

"We mean you no harm." He pulls a gun out and I tense.

Slowly, he puts the weapon on the ground and kicks it away from him. Coulson stares at Agent May for a long moment, and, with a sigh, she does the same but she glares at him irritably for a moment before looking back to us.

"We saw you up there in the air. Nice catch, by the way." He continues and I watch him carefully.

I still don't trust him. For all I know, he has another weapon concealed somewhere or a whole crew of people hiding in the area with their trigger fingers itching as they catch us in their cross-hairs. Something is wrong with this situation—I just know it.

Good things don't happen to us: just tragedy.

"Thanks." I say unconvincingly.

"Where's your family? Your mom? Your dad?"

"None of your business," I snap and he blinks at my sharp response. A flash of guilt slices through my ribcage but it's quickly eclipsed by anger. _Who is he to make me feel guilty?_

"Here." He puts a card on the ground and backs away from it slowly as if finally sensing that we will not be going anywhere with him in the near future. Man, were we proven wrong. "If you need anything—anything at all—don't hesitate to give me a call." He walks away and Agent May follows after him after gathering up their weapons.

"Well…that was weird." Serina says and I nod.

"You can say that again."

**…**

It turns out, I'd be making that call less than four hours later. We had jumped into a bad neighborhood to hide in plain sight when, low and behold, things got ugly. Serves me right, I guess. Everyone knows you're supposed to avoid the seedy parts of town not hide in them. Long story short, Chava got hit. A bullet cut through her arm and buried itself firmly into her shoulder. Blood went everywhere and it just kept coming. To take her to a hospital would be dangerous—the Paladins would find us for sure...

So, I made the call.

And Shield came running.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A jet hovers overhead above our rickety barn. I twist my body away from Chava and keep my hands on a rag that's pressed to her wound as I try frantically to slow the bleeding. The Asian woman, Agent May, digs her fingers into my shoulder and helps me to stand. A young man with dark black hair moves forward to gather Chava in his arms and I watch him warily. If he even thought about her, I'd jump him to Antarctica.

The rest of us are quietly ushered into the jet. My heart pounds as I watch a girl they call "Simmons" work on Chava. Her deft fingers move quickly over the wound as she administers stitches. She quickly snaps orders to a boy she calls 'Fitz' and he rushes to carry them out.

"There, all better." The girl says nervously and she gives me a worried smile.

I look at her suspiciously. _What is she so scared of? Me? _ I won't attack anyone lest the try to harm my friends or me. Should she leave us alone, she has nothing to worry about.

"I'm Simmons." She extends her hand and I cautiously take her hand in mine. Her fingers wrap delicately around my hand and she pumps her arm up and down in greeting. "And this my friend, Fritz."

"Hi." The boy to her right nods to me. "How are you?" He asks in a thick Scottish accent.

"Fine…" All this kindness is starting to creep me out, but they helped my sister. They must not be completely horrible…I guess. "And you?"

"Good." He says before he and Simmons scurry away.

"They're sort of shy. My name is Skye." A girl with long brown hair says.

"I'm Hope."

"Nice to meet you." We shake hands.

"Really? You people are acting like I'm a trained assassin or something. Like you'll say something wrong and I'll punch you in the throat." I say and Skye smirks.

"The last teleporter we met tried to kill us with a large wrench; we're just being cautious."

"Well, let be the first to assure you: I don't own any big wrenches—just small ones."

She smiles at me and I smirk back, "Good to know. So," her fingers wrap lightly around my wrist and I stare down at her hand with an eyebrow raised. "I'm going to introduce you to everyone. You've already met Fitz-Simmons. This is Agent Ward," The black haired boy that had carried Chava. "This is Agent May." May watches me coldly but says nothing. "And you already know Coulson." The man in the suit. She pulls me further into the ship and my friends follow.

"So, who are your associates?" Skye asks with a smile. _Why is she so happy? I don't get it. I've given no indication that I like any of them—all I did was assure her that I wouldn't attack them with a wrench! Humans are so weird…_

"This is my best friend, Serina." Serina's blue eyes flash happily. Her long black hair is pulled into a pony tail and she's wearing faded blue jeans and an old purple t-shirt. "This is Jordan, my cousin." He's about six foot three with short blond hair and pale blue eyes. "My friend, Caleb," Caleb is about four inches shorter than Jordan with short, curly brown hair and warm chocolate colored eyes. "And the little girl, Chava, is my sister."

I watch as Ward picks little Chava up and carries her towards where Fitz and Simmons disappeared to. So far, she's still unconscious. Where is he taking her?

"Don't worry." Coulson says softly. "They're just going to run some more tests to make sure everything is okay."

I relax slightly.

"Are you all teleporters?" Skye asks me and her soft brown eyes seem to glow with an inner joy.

"Jumpers." I correct. "The term is 'Jumpers,' and no. It's just me."

Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Then…what do the others do?"

"You don't know? I thought you people were monitoring us?"

"The footage was pretty grainy. We knew there was at least on person with the ability to teleport. Everything else was difficult to make out." Coulson explained. I nodded. That made sense.

"Well, Jordan can freeze things." I explained. "Caleb tends to light things on fire, and Serina can turn invisible." _And control emotions as well as walk through walls. Serina and I are just awesome._

I notice Serina is still staring at Ward and he begins to look around irritably. _And it seems as though she's just found her next victim._ He's going to be acting like a hormonal pregnant woman soon enough. I'm not sure who I should feel more sorry for: him or his team.

"What about the little one? 'Chava'?" May asks.

"Nothing a usual seven year old can't do." I lie.

Truth be told, Chava is telekinetic, but I'm not about to tell any of them that. Not when we're all trapped in a jet with nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide.

"Hm. Neat." Skye says and she pulls me lightly towards some small dormitories. "Here. This is your room. I'll leave you to think or whatever." She leaves.

By now, my friends have dispersed around the jet. Jordan and Caleb are talking to Coulson and Sirena shadows Ward. I hide a snicker and duck into 'my' dorm. It's small with just enough space for a small bed and dresser. A tiny mirror is on the far wall. It isn't much, but it's more than I've had in a while. I yawn and lie down on the bed. Within minutes, I'm asleep.

**…**

_"__We love you." My mother says and she kisses my forehead gently. _It's midnight. Why did she wake me up to tell me this?_ "We're going to go out for a while, okay, honey?" I nod and blink quickly to try to make my eyes focus—they won't._

_"__Mhmm." I say and I lean against the wall as I struggle to keep my eyes open. She smiles sadly and a few tears slip down her cheeks. _

Why is she crying? She's just going to the store, right? She'll be back soon.

_She pushes me back down into my bed lightly and pulls my blanket up around me and pecks my check. The moisture from her kiss lingers on my face and I clumsily reach my hand up to rub it away. More of her tears fall. She stands abruptly and walks to the doorway. Just as the door begins to ease shut I can just barely catch her next words:_

_"__I'm sorry."_

_I'm too tired to ponder the meaning of her words. _

_When I wake up, the world is falling apart._

**…**

I jerk awake and breath quickly. My heart screams in my ears and leaps into my throat as I fight wildly for air. Cold fingers of terror scratch down my spine and I force myself to stand. When I've calmed down, I swing my backpack over my shoulder and wander down towards the labs where Chava is.

"How is she?" I ask and Fitz looks up at me.

"The girl?" He asks in his thick accent and I nod. "She seems fine—started to stir a lil' while ago. Hopefully, she'll wake soon."

"Alright. Thanks."

"Hope, is it?" Agent Coulson asks.

"Yes…"

"We're going to be touching down in a secure facility called the Hub soon where your sister will be receiving more adequate medical attention."

"Thanks." _Why is he so keen on helping us?_

"I've had one of my agents attempt to look into you and your associates. We can't find anything on any data base—would you care to explain?"

"Hm, that's weird." I lie. "Perhaps you didn't look hard enough?" I offer and he narrows his eyes at me. Truth be told, I had erased any mention of us off all online databases years ago in an attempt to lose the Paladins and stay hidden; it didn't work, and it was too late now to reverse the change.

"If we're going to work together then we need to honest with one another." Coulson crosses his arms over his chest and I blink at him.

"We aren't working together," I point out. "You said 'if I needed help, call' and that's just what I did—no more, no less. My sister has hurt and she needed medical attention—I never agreed to work you."

"You could save lives; think of all the good that you could accomplish." He insists.

I'm not impressed.

"Every person I come in contact with is immediately put into danger. The people who want me dead will stop at nothing to kill me. Where I go, death follows. Do you still want me to join?"

"Try it on a trial basis. And if it doesn't work out, I'll help you and your friends find somewhere safe to live: somewhere where your enemies will never find you." He offers and I look at him—I mean I really look at him…and I search the vast expanse within his blue eyes to try to locate his heart.

He's being sincere.

Well, who knows? Maybe a mass genocide won't occur. If I keep my head down and play nice—just for a little while—I'll put food in our bellies and a roof over our heads all without breaking any laws. Even if it's temporary, it's better than a current situation: homeless and starving.

If I save a few lives along the way, well…who am I to argue?

"Alright." I give in. "I guess it can't hurt."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I'm sitting in the lab watching Fitz-Simmons work. My sister is sleeping peacefully and Fitz is bent over some blue prints. The plane's engine roars quietly in my ears and I can feel the plane beginning to turn to the left ever so slowly. I tense a little before calming.

"First time flyer?" Fitz inquires distractedly.

"That obvious?" I ask.

"Yep." He says before turning back to his work.

"So…where's your family?" Simmons asks me.

"They're gone—I don't know where," I shrug. "It just Chava and me now…and our group. We're a familyof sorts," I say softly and Simmons looks at me sadly and offers a tight smile.

"So…these people…the ones who want to kill you…" She stammers and Fitz glances at her. "Why do they want to hurt you?"

"They have problems." I say and Simmons laughs nervously.

"Yes, I suppose they do. SO, do you have skills or whatever outside of teleporting?"

"Could you elaborate?" I drum my fingers on the table top.

"Like technical skills or fighting…"

"I'm good with computers—I'm a fairly good hacker and you have to be a decent fighter in order to survive on the streets…um…I'm a rookie inventor but I'm not awesome or anything," I shrug. "But nothing substantial or monumental. No."

"Inventor, eh?" Fitz speaks up and he wanders over. "Make anything lately?" He asks and Simmons chuckles at him. "What?" He raises his eyebrows in confusion and she shakes her head, a smile blooming across her face.

"Nothing." She says and we make eye contact; her eyes are laughing. "Please, go on."

"I made my watch." I offer up my right arm.

My watch is large and metallic. It has a large navy blue face that flashes the time back at me with glowing white letters. The strap is made up of a light, durable, black metal. It is a compass, a watch, a communicator with unlimited range, as well as a hologram projector/recorder.

"What's it do?" Fitz eyes my wrist curiously.

"Tells the time," I give him a weird look and he suddenly looks sheepish. "What else?" I lie easily. I still don't know these people very well. As far as I know, they could all be aligned with the Paladins—or worse: Hydra. I shudder inwardly.

"Oh, okay." Fitz wanders away and Simmons hides a smile.

"I need to talk to you," Coulson addresses me as he walks in. "In fact, I need to talk to everyone. We're having a meeting in five. Make sure you're all there—your group too." He looks at me meaningfully.

**…**

"So, what's up?" Skye asks and Coulson catches us one by one in his calm, blue gaze.

"We need to talk."

"So we've gathered." Skye comments dryly and I hide a smile. Coulson looks like he's fantasizing about killing Skye. I'm beginning to like her.

"These kids." He motions to us, "Are all going to be trained as Shield Agents."

"What?" Ward raises his eyebrows in surprise and disbelief. "We know nothing about them. This could be a huge security risk." May looked at Ward and I could tell that she agreed with him. This couldn't be good.

"Their abilities could be very helpful in the long run," Coulson explained patiently. "We're taking them in on a trial basis and they'll be given basic level clearance, like Skye when she first joined. Their abilities are not to be talked about outside of the group: for both their protection and ours."

"So, we tell no one?" Ward asks. His arms are crossed over his chest and he looks at us suspiciously: he doesn't trust us, and if I were him, I wouldn't either. "Not even the brass?"

"Yes." Coulson says and I can feel May also watching us carefully. "If we don't keep their abilities a secret, their enemies could find them, _putting us **all** in danger_. Until we learn more about the situation and we're up against here, we need to keep it between us."

"Well, what about S.O's?" May asks. "And the younger child? She's way to young for our line of work."

Coulson shrugs, "The girl could be used as leverage against the newcomers if she were to be captured by these… 'Paladins'. For now, they'll all stay on our ship. There are five Shield Agents on board: each of you will take one on to teach. The youngest girl is far too young, so I'll exempt her. Ward, you already have Skye under your wing so, I'm talking to everyone else. May, you get Hope. Simmons, you have Serina. Fitz: Jordan and I guess that leaves me with…Caleb?" Caleb nods in confirmation and Coulson continues: "We're heading to the Hub tomorrow: stay put of trouble." Coulson leaves and we all stare at each other incredulously.

I can tell that everyone in my group was all thinking the same exact thing: _WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!_

**…**

"So…I'm with you, huh?" I ask May and her fists crashes into the punching bag—hard.

"It would appear so." She says and she hits the bag again. I wince. _That poor, poor piece of training equipment._ "How are you with hand-to-hand combat?" She inquires as she turns to me.

Automatically, I take a large step backwards to put more distance between her and me. Her lips curl into a small, amused smile.

"I'm okay, I guess." Really, I could easily take down a small platoon of fighters. With people hunting you, it was necessary to know how to fight—how to kill. I had my sister and friends to protect. Fighting was not a skill.

Fighting was a means to life.

"Show me what you got." She says and she watches me carefully.

_Wait—what?_

"Excuse me?" I cock my head slightly to the side in confusion as I wait for her to explain the meaning behind her words: she doesn't. Instead, she rushes forward.

Her fist races towards my nose and I spin out of the way of her deadly hands and behind her. My foot flies of its own accord into the back of her knee and she crashes to the ground but she rises rapidly: this time with a kick to my head. I duck beneath it and send a fist towards her rib cage; she dodges easily out of the way. We pant for a few moments and study the other cautiously.

"You're far better than 'okay'." She looks at me again and I can see a small flash of admiration in her eyes. "I look forward to teaching you more combat skills. We'll start tomorrow at 05:00; don't be late," She says as she walks upstairs.

_Mental note: teleport to Tahiti and hide in a bunker. They won't try to rip your head off like Shield. Jeez, what have I just agreed to? 'Trial basis'? She's going to kill me before the trial even ends! Forget the Paladins—this woman is insane AND deadly! _

But I still show up for training: I'm too scared not too. For hours, we attack each other, do strenuous exercises, and hit the punching bag. At the end, I wolf down breakfast and fight to keep it down.

"So…" I say and she glances up at me: it's not 06:00. "What's 'the Hub'?"

"A Shield facility." She answers before walking into the cockpit and closing the door behind her.

_Well, at least she didn't try to snap my neck this time. I think we're making progress._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Chava is awake and walking around the 'bus' by now; her small hand is clasped tightly in mine. Should anything go wrong, I'll teleport her directly to Japan—as far away from here as humanly possible—before returning to get the others.

"Don't forget." Coulson warns as the plane begins to rocket towards the ground. "Act normal and no powers." Soon, the cargo bay is opening. May walks toward us and I move to stand by her. Her cold black eyes give me a once over before turning to look back at Coulson.

"Is this really necessary?" She asks Coulson pointedly.

"Hopefully, it's just temporary. This is too delicate a situation to tell anyone else. Should the wrong ears hear about it or if our systems were to be hacked, they'd all die." A shiver runs down my spine at his words. He hasn't wrong.

"Then why come here at all?"

"The brass is sending us on a mission and we're getting debriefed."

"And the rookies?"

"They're sitting it out. This is classified."

"Is it Hydra?" She glances at Coulson.

"That's what we're going to find out"

**…**

"Where are we going?" I ask my S.O.

"We?" May looks at me. "I'm taking you and your sister to the gym. I have a meeting to attend."

"I thought I was supposed to stay with you; that's was S.O means right-babysitter?" I point out and she narrows her eyes irritably at me in an expression I think a cat would make when glaring at a mouse for daring to order it around.

"You don't have a high enough clearance level to come with me." She states before she stops outside a door and looks at me carefully: she doesn't trust me. The feeling is mutual. "Don't break anything or hurt anyone and keep your ability under wraps. I'll be back when the mission ends."

I glance at Chava.

"She's an optimist, by the way," I say sarcastically and Chava smiles a little. I push the doors open and Chava picks up a basketball with her uninjured hand.

"So, what about my friends?"

"They're with Fitz-Simmons." May narrows her eyes at me.

"Then why are we in here?"

"So you can entertain the little one."

"Alone?"

May closes her eyes in frustration. "This conversation is over. I'm running late. Remeber what we talked about concerning what NOT to do in public."

"Got it." I say and May stalks away.

"Want to play?" She asks hopefully.

"Well, it's only fair to warn you," I inch closer slowly, "that you're going to lose!" I swipe the ball from her fingers and send it flying towards the hoop. It bounces off: _DARN IT! Why does that always happen?_

"You're cheating!" She whines as we both scramble to get to the ball first. "I can only use one hand!"

"Not my problem!" I laugh as I go to run past her.

Her leg reaches out to trip me and I skid across the neatly waxed floors. Chava's soft laughter echoes off the walls as I peel myself off of the floor. The ball sails high over my head and falls neatly through the hoop with a loud swish.

"You suck." I complain as I move to my feet slowly. "How did you even make it into the net by only using one hand?" _She used her telekinesis didn't she? Brat._

Chava giggles and rolls her eyes at me, "I'm just good that way." She dribbles the ball on the ground and I eye it. "Take it if you dare." She challenges.

It would not be difficult at all for me to teleport over, pick her up, and teleport high enough in the air to throw her into the basketball hoop. But Agent May had forbidden teleportation in public. I sigh and run towards Chava at a run, my hands open as I rush towards the ball, but she moves neatly out of the way, wincing slightly from the movement as pain flashes up her arm. I slam hard into the wall and drop to the ground.

Chava laughs.

_Why did I have to get the killjoy as my SO?_

**…**

"Come on." Simmons stands outside the door and I blink at her in surprise.

_I thought May was coming for us. This is weird._

"Is something wrong? Where is Agent May? Is everyone alright?" My voice is loud and worried.

"The other agents are going on a mission so you and your friends are with Fitz and me; everything is fine." Simmons offers me a small smile."Follow me; your friends are with Fitz in the labs. Stay close and try to be quiet. The less you talk the better."

"Why?"

"Because you aren't supposed to be there." She walks away and I slip my hand through Chava's to keep her close.

**…**

"What are you guys working on?"

"It's classified." Simmons says distractedly as she examines something through her a computer hologram. I sigh and slouch down in my chair before quickly sitting right back up.

"Want to gamble?" I ask Chava and Fitz-Simmons give me a disapproving look that only worsens when Chava agrees (rather quickly) to play poker with me. I sigh inwardly and pull a bag of hard candy out of my pocket. Fitz rolls his eyes at me jokingly and Simmons laughs at him.

Chava wins the game and gives a small shout of victory. The two scientists glance over and smile a little before returning promptly to their work while I glare down at the deck. _What is up with my playing skills this week? I never lose!_

Yawning, I lean back against the wall and close my eyes.

**…**

_My little brother, Shlomo, is giggling. His freckles leap and dance as the happiness rushes over him like a raging tsunami. Chava rolls a ball across the floor and I bat it towards Shlomo with my hand. The small boy picks it up and attempts to teeth with it. Slobber oozes over the pink plastic ball and I shudder as I take it away and give him a teething toy instead. My mother walks into the room and watches us with a strange expression on her face. Her eyes are blank. Her face hard. Something bad had just happened; she always looked this way when something bad happened._

So, what was it?

_"__We're going to go out for a while. Put the kids to bed," she tells me. Her voice is strained and filled with unseen tears. Something is ripping her apart and she can barely hold the pieces together. _

But, I'm only thirteen…I'm not old enough to babysit at night. Chava is four and Shlomo is one—it wasn't going to be easy to put them down…and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. There were no groceries in the fridge. What were we going to eat?

_"__When are you coming back?" I ask._

_"__I don't know." She says and then she walks out the door with a bottle of alcohol held tightly in her hand._

_"__Where's Dad?" I call after her._

_"__Work." She slams the door to her car. The highlights flick on. She backs up and drives away into the darkness as she talks quickly into her cell phone. Tears slip down her cheeks. Her eyes will be red and splotchy soon, her nose running down her face._

_"__I'm hungry," Chava whines and she turns her big eyes on me._

_"__I don't know," I say and I walk to the fridge, knowing that I won't find anything useful in it and I don't. I turn to the pantry and open up the creaking door to pear inside: nothing._

_"__What's for dinner?" She asks and my stomach growls._

_The phone rings and I pick it up quickly, "Hello?" I ask._

_"__Hey, Hope. What's up? It's Serina."_

_"__It's going okay…I guess." I want to tell her everything, but what could she do to help? She was only a year older than I was. _Besides, Mom said that if I ever told anyone about the drinking or the violence, people would come to take us away. Forever._ That made everybody a bad guy—an enemy. And yet…Serina always seemed to know when something was up. I could bury my problems in a ten foot hole and then fill it with cement—she always found them. _

_"__I'm coming over. Don't worry: dinner's on me." _

_A weight lifts off my chest and I find myself sighing with relief. An hour later, she's ringing my doorbell. Her shoes are worn down, her clothes ratty. Serina was from a poor family that was trapped in poverty. How she got take out is forever a mystery to me, but we still ate it. When they're fed, Serina camps out on my couch and curls into a ball. Her eyes flicker shut and I throw a blanket over her before carrying Chava and then Shlomo to bed. _

_Tomorrow was going to be better._

_It had to be._

**…**

"Alright, time to go. They're back." Chava shakes me awake and I blink up at her. My entire body is tense and coiled from the unexpected physical contact but I relax quickly upon seeing Chava's beaming face. Everything is alright. I release a sigh of relief.

"Lead the way, shorty." I say and she giggles.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry I've been away for the longer part of forever. Hopefully this chapter helps to make up for that a little.**

**Chapter 5**

"Go back to the gym," May snaps when she sees us. Simmons gives me an apologetic smile and shrugs. With a sigh, my friends and I allowed ourselves to be led away.

"Is she always this cheerful?" I ask Simmons and she laughs.

"Only always," She smiles and I bite back a smirk.

"So when are we leaving?"

"I don't know, soon maybe. They'll probably report to command and then we'll be off." We reach the gym and Simmons opens the door, motioning for us to go inside.

"And then what?" I ask.

"We go on to our next mission. Well, I'll you guys here; Fitz and I might be needed with the others." She walks away.

"Okay…" this is starting to look suspicious. Maybe these people are working with the Paladins and we've just walked into their trap! We might need to take off and ask questions later or we'll end up dead.

"Hope?" Jordan looks at me and his blue eyes glow slightly. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure." I shrug and then the others are all looking at me.

"So, what do we do now?" Caleb asks.

The door slams open I turn, expecting to see one of the SHEILD agents from the "bus" and my blood runs cold.

Roland. Leader of the Paladins.

"Well," Roland smirks coldly at us. "You could just die and make my job a heck of a lot easier."

"Or not." I say.

Then I jump across the room, grab the metal ball stand, and then jump back to my position before. The metal stand flies out of my hands and hurls towards the Paladin. I grab Chava and Serina and then jump to a dark Japanese library. Chava wines and holds her injured shoulder, and I fight back the urge to hug her.

Depositing them, I jump back for the others. Caleb is spinning away from Roland's blade and a wall of flames jumps from my friend's hands. I grab Jordan, drop him off with Chava and Serina, and then rush back to Caleb.

"You've improved since the last time I've seen you." Roland says darkly as he punches Caleb. Caleb stumbles backwards and I freeze as I watch Roland's blade slide into Caleb's stomach. He gasps and falls to the ground, shuddering as blood begins to pool around him.

"And now you're all alone," Roland smirks and then begins to stalk towards me. "Poor, poor little Jumper. You never even had a chance."

More Paladins spill into the room. There are at least two dozen of them and only one of me. He's right. I don't have a chance. I could jump anywhere I wanted to and they would open up my wormhole and follow after me. I could fight but I would lose and surrender…they'd still kill me. I never should have trusted these Shield people.

_Oh, well. Too late now._

Roland leaps forward and his blade rushes towards my chest. I jump into the hallway behind the gym and run.

"After her!" Roland shouts. "Don't let her escape!"

Blood roars through my ears and panic ignites my chest. Run! Faster! I scream at myself inside my head. My feet pound frantically into the cold white tiled floor as I pass body after body of fallen Shield agents. Maybe they weren't so bad after all. I see a dead end ahead of me and wince but I refuse to slow.

_One._

The distance between me and the wall shrinks.

_Two._

Angry shouts sound behind. Someone's ragged breathing is heard in my ears. Sharp fingers curl into my shoulder. A blade inches towards my should blades.

_Three._

I jump painfully. The wall hugs me tightly as I teleport through it. Someone screams in agony as their fists hits the brick behind me. My heart jackhammers as I continue the jump and then drop into the ocean. Taking a deep breath, I dive beneath the raging sea and then jump again before a tsunami can rip me away.

Let them try to follow me through that.

**…****BACK AT SHIELD HEADQUARTERS…**

"You told her to go back to the gym?" Coulson shouts at May. "I told her to stay with you! Look at all this!" Coulson gestured to the dead bodies and the trashed gymnasium. "It looks like a war just broke out! This was not supposed to happen!"

"Coulson, I—"

"No, now is not the time for excuses! We need to find those kids before they get killed! They were our responsibility! We promised to keep them safe and now look what's happened! Skye, I want you to try to locate them. Simmons, keep an eye on the boy and try to stabilize his condition. Fitz, monitor the radio waves, maybe they'll try to get in contact with us that way. May, I want you to go through the surveillance videos and see if you can pinpoint how our security was breached. We'll don't just stand there—go!"

Coulson stalks away and sighs in frustration.

_They had one job—just one—and it's already falling apart. He knew he should have kept an eye on them instead of going on the mission. Leaving a bunch of teenagers alone in a room was a recipe for disaster. How could he have been so stupid? Of course, the Paladins would catch up! What was he even thinking—leaving them here? Alone?_

_Today was not a good day._

_And those poor kids…_

_They must be scared and injured._

He could just imagine them hiding in a dark alley in the shady part of some town. Bullets bouncing off the walls and rain pouring from the sky. It was all his fault. Well, he was going to find them and make up for leaving them—somehow…

"Hey," May walks into the room and watches him.

"What's up?" Coulson asks.

"Skye just got into contact with Hope. They'll be heading back soon."

"What? Already?"

"Hope had hacked into our security footage to checkup on the boy they had left behind. Skye intercepted her and they're talking now. They are all alright and Simmons just stabilized the boy—Caleb." May corrects herself quickly.

"That's good news! How long until they're back?"

"Hello." Hope pokes her head around May and looks at Coulson. "So, I heard you missed us?"

Coulson laughs with relief and nods. "Just a tad. Everyone alright?"

"No injuries. So, we're leaving now right? Am I still to stay with my S.O," Hope looks at May, "Or…?"

"Just get everyone in your party to the bus. We'll talk more there." Coulson ordered and Hope disappeared.

"She just 'jumped' didn't she?" Coulson sighed.

"I told her no powers in public," May shrugged. "Guess it doesn't matter much anymore anyway. Skye is erasing the footage so no one but us will know about their abilities."

"Good. Get Fitz-Simmons and tell them to get on the bus. I need to grab some things first, but I'll be there shortly. Be ready to take off." Coulson said quickly and May nodded before leaving the room.

**…**

"So…? Care to tell me what's going on?" I'm sitting on the couch beside and Skye. The pair of us watch him carefully.

"There have been rumors that Hydra has resurfaced." Coulson began slowly. _Well, I could have told him that. What kind of intelligence agency was this anyway?_ "We also have reason to believe that the Paladins have joined forces with Hydra." _Oh…that I did not know. Maybe staying with these loons isn't such a bad idea after all._

Skye tenses on the couch beside me and curses under her breathe. _Huh, I guess she didn't know either. How deep did these secrets go?_

_"_And that's where you were? Investigating those claims?" I ask.

"Yes." Coulson nods.

"So, now what?"

"We continue doing what we were doing before. You and the other will receive combat trained and hone your abilities while we go about our business as usual. For the time being, we'll keep your powers a secret, even from the high ranking members of Shield."

"For our safety?" I ask skeptically and Coulson smiles sadly.

Coulson speaks quietly: "I know we haven't given you much of a reason for trusting us, but we'll make it up to you. Yes, it is for your safety and I'm sorry that things happened the way they did earlier. I understand why you don't trust us. You've been on the run for so long…it must be difficult to trust that there are still good people out there willing to help you out.

"You must have been betrayed God knows how many times and seen things—horrible things—that no one should ever have to witness…but things don't have to be that way for you kids any longer. I won't lie to you and tell you that you are safe or that nothing horrible is ever going to happen to you guys again, but I can promise that I'll do everything in my power to keep you guys from falling into Hydra's or the Paladins hands."

A lump forms in my throat and all eyes turned to me.

"I second that Coulson's motion." May says.

"As do I." Skye replies and one by one the rest of the Shield agents vow to help keep us safe.

"Thanks." I say softly.

That night, I look at the window and I watch as the starlight fights its way through the darkness of the sky. If the light can endure, so can we.

_Well, Roland, you're about to have your hands full. The next time we might, I'm going to be a ninja just like my S.O, and you won't get away with hurting my friends._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Florida. We're going to look into the Hydra rumors some more. If they're resurfacing, we need to be ready." Coulson explained and I see Ward tense slightly out of the corner of my eye. "I doubt there's any validity to the claims—nothing tangible has surfaced yet. Right now, we're treating it as hearsay. What concerns me are the people you call 'Paladins'. We've run into them a few times, and I've yet to have a good encounter with any them. We'll investigate the Hydra claims and then try to find out more about the Paladins."

"Sounds good," I nod.

"So, what do you know about the Paladins. When did you first encounter them?" Coulson sits down across from me and takes a drink of water.

"The Paladins are an organization of people that hunt and kill people who have the ability to teleport." I say emotionlessly.

"Jumpers?"

"Right. The ability to jump first appears when someone is around three years of age. This is typically when they get caught on their radar. When they have identified a Jumper, the Paladins kill the jumper and sometimes its family."

"And they identified you." Coulson says softly and I shrug.

"A few years ago, yeah." I squirm uncomfortably and Coulson looks out the window for a minute before glancing back at me.

"Are you alright?"

The night the Paladins had come was also the night my parents had left. I had no idea how to control my abilities. At the time, I had been holding Chava and telling her a bedtime story. The Paladins had kicked down the door and stormed into the house, guns blazing. Instinctively, I had jumped to the forest outside. Since Chava had been sitting on my lap…she came with me. My brother, Shlomo, had been inside. We had run into Serina on the road and hid in some bushes until the Paladins had left. They had lit my house on fire. Horrified, we had watched as the flames consumed the house and smoke rushed into the sky. My parents had never come back…and I never found Shlomo. Serina, Caleb, Jordan, Chava and I had left soon after. If they knew about my teleporting, then they probably knew about their abilities too…and in that case, we were all in danger.

But we weren't.

They had just wanted me, but now that they knew about my friends, they were targets as well, but it was too late to turn back time.

"I'm fine." I eventually answer but my voice sounds tight and forced from holding my emotions at bay.

"It was bad wasn't it?" Coulson asked and his eyes looked sad. _Why was he upset?_

"It was. Yes." I swallow.

"And your friends left with you?" May asks as she takes a seat beside Coulson. _What was this? A visit to the principal's office?_

"I had thought they were in danger, too." I straighten in my chair and consider jumping to the labs were Caleb is. He regained consciousness last night. _Maybe he needs some company?_

"But they weren't in danger?" May leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees.

"No. Not at the time…The Paladin's leader is man named Roland Cox." I try to continue on with my monologue but Coulson interrupts me again. I'm going to wind up smacking this guy before too long.

"Was he the one from the gym at the Hub?"

"Correct. He possibly has government connections. Paladins are discreet and clever, and they have no problem killing people to achieve their end result."

"And their end result is to have no more Jumpers." Coulson states and I nod. "When children first get that ability—at three years of age—are they killed then?"

"Yes," I say softly. "Any Jumper who is discovered is killed regardless of age."

"Why? That doesn't make any sense!" Coulson shakes his head and I see May slip into the room.

"They believe that only God should have the ability to be in multiple places at once, and that all Jumpers eventually turn evil. So, to protect the world, they kill Jumpers."

"Because of the chance that you'd become a menace to society," May finishes for me. "And are you? Are you a menace?" May narrows her eyes.

"I don't think so. I help people when I can but mostly stay to myself." If I had it my way, I wouldn't even be here. We'd be in Alaska and live in a cave or go to some deserted island and earn our keep there.

"So, stealing that truck, that wasn't being a menace?" May raises an eyebrow at me.

"I needed a way to transport all of us at once, and the truck served that purpose. Instead of making multiple trips to get everyone to and from a location, all I needed was one. So, I picked an old vehicle that had multiple problems with it. Since the vehicle was stolen, the man could collect insurance on it and use it to buy a better truck." I shrug, "It was a win-win scenario."

Coulson chuckles: "No, I don't think you're a menace at all."

**…**

As it turns out, the Hydra thing was just a rumor. We found no evidence of them in Florida. Nothing, not even a shred of proof that led us to believe the dead organization had risen from the grave. The Paladins must be working alone then, but how in the world did they keep finding us?

Simmons pulls me into the lab and begins to strap me into some type of high-tech harness.

"What are you doing?" I frown at her.

"Running an experiment. You?" She snaps the clasps closed.

"Nothing much…just hanging out. So, how does this experiment work?"

"You jump somewhere—anywhere really—and I'll monitor what happens through the harness you're currently wearing."

"Is it safe?" I tug on it lightly and something lights up.

"Um…sure?"

"Well, as long as you're convinced." I say sarcastically and Simmons smiles nervously.

"Just jump to a location somewhere outside the Bus and I'll try to track you. The data I receive from the harness might help me figure out how the Paladins keep finding you."

"Okay." And then I jump.

Hawaii is nice this time of year. Tourist cover the beeches and exotic birds fly overhead. A warm breeze comes in over the ocean and waves crash lightly onto the sand. I stay where I am for a few minutes and watch people interacting with one another. Parents tend to their happy children and a crab crawl onto my shoe. Okay, I've been here long enough.

I jump back.

"That was amazing." Simmons eyes are wide with amazement. "Look at this. When you jump, you give off a unique energy signature that allows me to follow your movements—this must be how they keep finding you! All they have to do is see where you jump to and then contact their agents in that area; it's genius!" I frown. "I mean…tragic. Yes, horribly tragic. I think there might be a way to mask your signature…" Simmons says thoughtfully and Fitz looks over her shoulder to examine the data for himself.

"I think you're right." He nods. "If we could—"

"Yes," Simmons says. "And we could do that thing—"

"I'll get my tools!" Fitz rushes across the room and Caleb rolls his eyes at me.

"They've been like this all day. Please kill me," he jokes and I laugh.

"Aw, but then I'll be lonely," I say and he chuckles. Slowly, I entangle myself from the harness and work my way upstairs. May is reading a book to Chava, and Coulson and Skye are talking in his office.

"You look like a lost puppy," Ward comments when he sees me.

"Huh, do you see those often?" I smirk and he shakes his head.

"Every now and then. How are you doing?"

"Fine. Everything is fine. So, where are we off to now?"

"No idea." He yawns. "Get your P.T in today?"

"Depends, what happens if I say no?" I lean against the wall.

"Come on, let's get in some combat. May teach you how to dodge a knife attack yet?" He has a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"No…?" _This guy is going to kill me._

"It's easy. Come on, I'll show you."

"Yay…"

**…**

I was fast but he was faster. He stuck me with the plastic knife five times before I could block the fake blade. Smirking, he circled around me and I watched him carefully. His brown eyes growled at me dangerously and I fought to suppress a shudder. Those were not the eyes of a friend, but, rather, those of an enemy. He lunges forward, but I bat the knife out of his hand and twist around behind him. A strong blow to the knee knock him forward and sends him sprawling.

"You learn quickly." Ward gets back up to his feet.

"That she does." May stands in the entryway and looks at me calmly. "A good skill for a Shield agent—the ability to adapt to one's surroundings. We'll be landing soon. When we land, Hope, I need you to stay close to me and try to act casual."

"Okay." I say. She looks at me for a long time before leaving.

"Good job." Ward pats me hard on the shoulder. "You're improving quickly. We can get more practice in tomorrow and then try some firearms training."

"Should Agent May be teaching me that?"

"Who do you think flies the plane? Go get ready for the landing party."


End file.
